Toby Keith has seemingly unintentionally misled his fans into thinking he's back performing despite his cancer diagnosis.
The 62-year-old "Red Solo Cup" singer revealed to his social media followers in June 2022 that he'd been diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2021, and has since taken a step back from recording new music and performing live. Despite the health issues, Keith has been updating his social media accounts, showing clips of himself singing and performing in various scenarios.
Keith's representatives recently told Newsweek that while he's recovering, Keith is now "working on a lot of exciting things" and will be sharing news soon.
Despite the promise of things to come, Keith has yet to make a large return to public performing, but many fans thought he had when he shared a clip of himself on stage on his social media channels.
"A little bit of rain never stopped the Big Dog Daddy!" Keith wrote on Monday, including a seven-second clip of himself getting barraged by torrential rain while performing live.
The short clip was actually taken during Keith's 2014 performance at the Winstock Country Music Festival in Winsted, Minnesota. Since Keith didn't include any context to the clip, many of his fans seemed to celebrate, thinking it was from a recent show.
"He's back," wrote @IorioMerry42022 on X, formerly Twitter, including praying hands and a love heart emoji.
"Last [I] heard he was sick. Looking better and hope he is well," commented @lyn_ander. Meanwhile @CoachCrutchUNO said, "Great to see my man Toby back doing his THING."
"Your fans appreciate you giving it your all, especially after all you have been through with your cancer treatment! So impressive to see you out there! Your fans really appreciate you," commented the verified user @LarryWeis7.
That’s awesome Toby! You are The Man! Your fans appreciate you giving it your all, especially after all you have been through with your cancer treatment! So impressive to see you out there! Your fans really appreciate you!
— Larry Weis (@LarryWeis7) August 7, 2023Many other social media users commented to reminisce about the performance, seemingly being in the know that the clip was from a show nine years ago.
While some may be disappointed to see this wasn't his return to the big stage, Keith has reportedly performed in recent months. In early June he made a public appearance at his fundraising event, the Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic weekend, where he was pictured onstage with a microphone in his hand. Speaking about the event on July 21, Keith told his Instagram follows that he sang at the event alongside Mark Miller and Sawyer Brown.
He's also updated his social media with funny clips of himself in good spirits. One of the popular videos saw Keith in the back of an Uber singing his own song, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)" on karaoke.
Newsweek has been in touch with Keith's representatives who say they hope to share exciting news with his fans soon.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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